Shrinky DIY!

A lovely lady on Etsy approached me and asked about how I make my shrinkies so here is a little tutorial! (Full description and shopping list below the lovely pics) Enjoy…

Tips / Tricks and where to buy:

I get the Shrinkles classroom packs from Amazon -you get 50 A6 sheets and they cost around £8.99. If you live in the UK you can also get them at The Range and some branches of Squires.

I prefer the white ones but the frosted ones are great too and make it easier if you want to trace something (which helps if you are not that great at drawing or have kids who want to trace from magazines or books) The A6 ones are just the right size I find for making jewellery/ brooches. Use one A6 sheet per item.

When colouring your design just do so lightly as all the colours intensify in the oven. I love coloured pencils but Sharpies work too, though they can bleed a little.

Cut carefully and don’t forget to punch a hole using a standard hole punch if you want to use your shrinkie as a necklace or keyring.

Each type of shrinkie brand has different ‘cooking’ instructions so follow carefully what it says on the packet. You can use a big book to flatten the shrinkies further when they come out -I like Leiths cooking bible for this…it’s huge and heavy!

You can use an acrylic varnish to help seal your design once the shrinkie is cooked and cooled completely. Any clear varnish from an art shop will work, just make sure you are really careful and you don’t smudge your design.

All words, pictures and opinions are my own. Please contact me if you want to use any of my photographs. I will disclose information about products I have been gifted for review with a c/o so you know!